Category Archives: Nissan Racing

The second round of the 2016 Super GT Championship recently transpired at the Fuji Speedway in Japan. Nissan made a great show of force in not one, but two classes.

The Nissan GT-R took the cake in both the GT300 and GT500. In the latter race, the #1 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R, manned by the team of Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda, finished first. It was a result that may not have been. The #12 Calsonic IMPUL GT-R, driven by JP de Oliveira, had passed his teammates and
was on his way to victory when he tragically blew a tire on lap 96 and spun out.

In the GT300, GT Academy alumnus Jann Mardenborough and his partner Kazuki Hoshino won in their #3 B-MAX NDDP GT-R. This is an exceptional feat considering that it was only Mardenborough’s second Super GT race.

After the race, the young driver said, “I feel great to be able to take victory in my second race in the Super GT. Kazuki and I both carried out a good race with no mistakes so I’m happy about that.”

Spa 24 Hours may not enjoy the same level of prestige as Le Mans, but it certainly deserves to come at least close. The event takes place in the rolling hills and verdant forests of Belgium at one of the most beautiful tracks in the world. It’s a favorite among racing drivers, who always appreciate its old-school racing roots and the famous uphill Eau Rouge corner.

Nissan hasn’t failed to show its appreciation, either. Ahead of this year’s Spa 24 Hour race on July 25, it presented an incredible collection of short clips of last year’s cars racing through Eau Rouge, in slow motion. Nissan didn’t just show off its own GT-R NISMO GT3 car, but also showed some of the competing cars as well. This is unlike most promotional material we see in the business, and makes us think that Nissan actually does care about the artistic side of racing!

If you managed to catch the Spa 24 Hour race, make sure to stop by Bates Nissan and let us know what you thought!

The all-new 2016 Nissan Maxima SR was recently put to the test as it completed laps around the track at Buttonwillow Raceway. It was up against some stiff competition in the 2015 Acura TLX 3.5 with Technology Package, 2015 BMW 328i, and Audi A4 2.0T quattro Premium Plus Tiptronic. The Maxima more than held its own, though, posting the best lap time out of them. Check out the Nissan Maxima performance times below.

Vehicle

Time

Margin (seconds)

Maxima SR

1:18.50

—

BMW 328i

1:19.48

.98

Acura TLX 3.5L

1:20.58

2.08

Audi A4 2.0T Quattro

1:21.21

2.71

Nissan has been positioning the 2016 Maxima as the “4-Door Sports Car” and it’s most certainly living up the name!

Pierre Loing, vice president of Product Planning at Nissan, said, “We expected the all-new 2016 Maxima, with its re-engineered engine, transmission and chassis to do well, but frankly even we were surprised by the head-to-head test results against some very well-established luxury sports sedans.”

Nissan used its heartwarming With Dad ad to debut the GT-R LM Nismo, its long-awaited racer designed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It’s been 16 years since Nissan has competed in the top tier of the prestigious race, but now it’s back. The GT-R LM Nismo was created by a team of experts from around the world and boasts a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that sits in the front of the front-wheel-drive car, while hybrid power is derived from the front driveline to boost acceleration.

The LM P1 car belongs to a category that features some of the most extreme sports cars in racing today. Its performance at Le Mans could go a long way toward not only solidifying the automaker’s excellence in hybrid power but also in developing new, innovative technologies that can be applied to the very kind of production vehicles we see every day at Bates Nissan.

The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo will be the centerpiece of a Nismo display at the upcoming Chicago Auto Show, alongside the GT-R Nismo, 370Z Nismo, JUKE Nismo, and several other Nismo models and concepts.